One game into your Chicago Bulls’ 2022-23 season, this writer is reassessing his relatively pessimistic prognosis for their outlook.
Chicago was without starting point guard Lonzo Ball, who will miss at least several months as he recovers from his second knee surgery this year, or All-Star starting shooting guard Zach LaVine, currently being rested with “left knee injury management” (uh-oh).
The shorthanded Bulls were facing off against old pal Jimmy Butler and his Miami Heat on the road in the newly-rechristened FTX Arena. Though Miami is without a true power forward right now (they started 6’5” shooting guard Caleb Martin at the position), the Heat are still coming off a year where they finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference and were probably one Butler jumper away from their second NBA Finals appearance in three seasons.